Railway boxcar

ABSTRACT

In a conveying arrangement for moving cargo such as stacks of sheet plywood and the like in a railway boxcar, platforms are mounted for lengthwise movement along the car floor from a loading location adjacent the door opening in the car sidewall to stowed positions in the enclosed ends of the car, and each platform includes resilient bumpers at each of its ends, the inner bumper (nearer the door opening) being engageable by a stop lever mounted on a transverse pivot in the car floor biased for rising to hold the platform in a stowed position with its opposite bumper pressed against the car end wall, and each stop lever being depressible, with compression of the engaged inner bumper, to a releasing position below the platform after said bumper expands over the depressed stop lever.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Franklin P. Adler;

Glen 1R. Shaner, Michigan City, End. [21] Appl. No. 830,578 [22] Filed May 26, 1969 [45] Patented Mar. 16,1971 [73] Assignees Pullman Incorporated Chicago, 111. a fractional interest to each; Pullman Transport Leasing Company Chicago, Ill. a fractional interest to each Continuation of application Ser. No. 619,446, Feb. 28, 1967 abandoned.

[54] RAILWAY BOXCAR 3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl

[51] Int. Cl. B60p 7/08, 865 1/24 [50] Field ofSearch 105/366,

1,521,156 12/1924 Jenkins 1,675,562

7/1928 Kellett Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Attorneys-I-Iilmond O. Vogel and Wayne M. Russell ABSTRACT: In a conveying arrangement for moving cargo such as stacks of sheet plywood and the like in a railway boxcar, platforms are mounted for lengthwise movement along.

the car floor from a loading location adjacent the door opening in the car sidewall to stowed positions in the enclosed ends of the car, and each platform includes resilient bumpers at each of its ends, the inner bumper (nearer the door opening) being engageable by a stop lever mounted on a transverse pivot in the car floor biased for rising to hold the platform in a stowed position with its opposite bumper pressed against the car end wall, and each stop lever being depressible, with compression of the engaged inner bumper, to a releasing position below the platform after said bumper expands over the depressed stop lever.

Patented Mar ch 16, 1971 6 Sheets-Sheet l Patented March 16, 1971 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRANKLIN R ADLER 7 :gN/R. SHANE R avwlw ATT'Y.

Patented March 16, 1971 v 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented March 16, 1971 3,570,411

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 INVENTORS FRANKLIN P. ADLER GLEN R. SHANE? BY @ia ATT'Y.

RAILWAY BOXCAR This is a continuation patent application of copending Pat. application Ser. No. 619,446, filed Feb. 28, 1967, now abandoned of Franklin P. Adler and Glen R. Shaner.

SUMMARY The present invention relates to railway boxcars particularly adapted to transport lumber in the form of plywood sheets and bundles. To facilitate the loading of this type of cargo into a boxcar there are provided lengthwise movable platforms which are incorporated into the car as a permanent part thereof. The platforms are arranged to be movable between a location adjacent the side door opening for loading the lumber thereon and movable on longitudinal trackways extending lengthwise of the car floor to a stored position at the enclosed ends of the boxcars.

For holding the platforms containing the cargo thereon against the lengthwise movement during transit there is provided a stop arrangement which is an engagement with a resilient bumper means mounted on one end of the platform. The other end of the platform is also provided with a resilient bumper means which engages an end wall in the boxcar and is held thereagainst by means of the stop means.

To prevent displacement of the cargo laterally from the side of the platforms, the car is provided with spacers or holding members which are movable in a vertical plane from a position adjacent the car side to a position in engagement with the cargo.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a railway car embodying the conveying arrangement of the present invention and showing the car fully loaded;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the railway car with the roof removed and showing the platforms of the conveying arrangement in the stored position thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the platforms at one end of the car positioned in the opened doorway for loading the cargo thereon;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the platform of the conveying arrangement and showing the track and stop structure mounted on the floor of the railway car;

' FIG. 5 is an end elevational view showing the platform mounted on the trackway installed in the floor of the car;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines 7-7 of FIG. 4 and showing in particular the resilient bumper arrangement at one end of the car in engagement with the stop means for preventing lengthwise movement of the platform;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the railway car incorporating the conveying arrangement and showing the side spacers mounted on the sidewalls for retaining the cargo on the platforms during transit;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of one sidewall of the car and showing the spacer arrangement mounted thereon and showing the relationship thereof with respect to the movable platform;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the spacers with some of the overlying parts broken away to show underlying details of structure of the spacer mechanism; and

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of one of the spacers taken generally along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10 and showing in full lines the spacer bar in the stored position and in phantom lines the operative lading retaining position thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, in particular FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown a railway boxcar 10 of substantially conventional structure including a floor l1, sidewalls 12, end walls 13 and a roof 14. Formed in the sidewalls are door openings 16 which are adaptable to be closed off by lengthwise slidable doors of well-known construction. Mounted on the floor 11 and incorporated into the interior chamber of the boxcar is the conveying arrangement 17 of the present invention.

The conveying arrangement 17 is particularly adapted for using the box car 10 to transport lumber in the form of stacked plywood sheets or bundles of lengths of 2 i 4s and the like.

The conveying arrangement comprises generally a trackway means 18 including two pairs of transversely spaced rails 19 extending lengthwise of the car between the end walls 13 thereof. Each of the rails 19 may be in the form of an I-beam, as shown in particular in FIGS. 6 and 7, which may be fixed to crossbearers or the floor, if metal, by welding or the like.

Mounted for rolling movement on the rails 19 are platforms 21 which are preferably dimensioned so that each will accommodate two lengths of the usual 4 i 8 sheets of plywood. The platforms 21 each include a floor 22 which may be formed by lengthwise extending frame members 23-23 extending along the sides and across which there are fixed floorboards 24. The center of the platform 21 may be reinforced by transversely spaced longitudinally extending members 26-26 which are reinforced adjacent each end thereof as shown in FIG. 4 by means of diagonally extending braces 27-27 between the end frame member 28 and inwardly spaced braces 29-29. Journaled adjacent each end of the platform 21 between each pair of the frame members 23-23 are flanged roller wheels 31 which are supported on shafts 32. Intermediate the ends there may be provided rollers 33 which may be of the unflanged type so as to be merely ridable on the top surface of the I- beam rails 19. Further retaining the platform on the rails 19 are hook members 34 having horizontal legs 36 each underlying the upper web 37 of an I-beam rail 19 which is fixed to each of the end frame members 28. V

Mounted on the end frame members 28 of each of the platforms 21 is a bumper mechanism 38 as shown in particular in FIGS. 4, 5 and 7, including a stop plate 39 disposed substantially midway between the sides of the platform 21. Fixed adjacent to the ends of the stop plate 39 are guide pins 41 which are slidably received within openings 42 formed in the end members 28. At the center of the stop plate 39 there is fixed to the inner face thereof one end of a tubular member 43 which is received within a second tube extending through the end member 28 and fixed at its other end to a reinforcing plate 46 extending between the braces 26-26. Fixed at one end in an opening 46 provided in the stop plate 39 and extending coaxially through the tubular members 43 and 44 is a bar 47 which at its other end is received within an opening through the transverse brace 46. Threaded to the projecting end of the bar 47 is a nut 49 which serves as a stop. Coaxially disposed about the bar 47 and disposed within the tubular members 43 and 44 is a compression spring 51 which serves to cushion impact forces applied on the buffer plate 39. A bottom guide plate 52 engages the lower edge of the buffer plate as shown in FIG. 7 and extends back to the ends of the longitudinally extending members 26, thus forming with those members a platform substructure providing a continuous substantially uniplanar bottom surface area for the transverse central zone of the platform.

Mounted on the floor 11 and spaced from the end walls 13 so as to hold the platforms 21 against the respective end walls are stop means 53. Each stop means 53, as shown, comprises a rectangular boxlike support structure 54 which is elongated in the direction of the car length and is recessed in the floor 11 and includes a base 56, sides 57 and ends 58. Disposed within the chamber 59 of the box support 54 is a counterbalanced stop lever 61 rockably supported on a transverse horizontal shaft 62 extending between the sides thereof for pivoting in the plane of the car length. The stop lever 61 is biased to and normally assumes the inclined position shown in FIG. 7, engaging the buffer plate 39 after the platform has passed thereover from a position in the door area of the car to a position in the enclosed area so as to hold the latter against the end wall and prevent lengthwise movement thereof. To release a platform 21 from the closed end of the car for movement on the track the stop lever at the inner end of the platform can be manually depressed, as by forcibly stepping on it so that the lever 61 is rotated to a position within the chamber 59 out of the path of movement of the platform. As will be evident from FIG. 7, when the lever is thus stepped on, the buffer plate 39 becomes retracted with compression of spring 51, and thereafter the spring expands and the buffer plate becomes projected, with the lever held in depressed position within the box 54 by the substructure bottom surface provided by the guide plate 52 and the members 26, thus freeing the platform for movement from its stowed position. A complementary stop means 53a may also be provided to hold the platforms 21 in position for loading adjacent the door openings 16. The stop means 53a may be formed similarly to that shown in FIG. 7 and lie in back-to-back relationship therewith, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Mounted along each of the sidewalls 12 from each side of the door openings 16 to the end walls 13 are a plurality of lengthwise-spaced filler or spacer assemblies 65 which are movable inwardly and outwardly in a vertical plane from a stored position adjacent the wall to a position abutting plywood sheets or stick lumber carried on the platforms 21. The spacer assemblies 65 each include a plurality of spacer boards each of which extends vertically from the platform floor 22 to the car roof or ceiling 14. The spacer boards 66 are each mounted on the wall by means of pairs of links 67-67 and 68-68 disposed on opposite sides of the upper and lower end portions of the spacer boards 66. The links 67-67 and 68-68 are each pivotally connected to the board in lengthwise spaced relationship by means of pins 69 and 71, respectively. The links 67-67 are pivotally connected to a sleeve 72 which is rotatable on a threaded portion 73 of a vertically extending shaft 74. The other links 68-68 are pivotally connected to a sleeve 76 which is rotatable on a threaded portion 77 of opposite hand at a location spaced from the first-mentioned threaded portion 73. Thus, upon rotation the sleeves 72 and 76 are either movable toward or away from each other whereby the links 67-67 and 68-68 are operative to displace the spacer boards 66 inwardly and outwardly relative to the sidewalls, as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 11.

Each of the shafts 74 is turnably joumaled on lengthwisespaced joumaled brackets which are fixed to vertically extending channels 80 mounted on the respective sidewalls of the car 10. The lower end of each of the shafts 74 is provided with a bevel gear 79 which meshes with an associated bevel gear 81 fixed to a horizontally extending drive shaft 82 mounted on the sidewall adjacent the floor 11. The drive shaft 82 of each of the spacer assemblies 65 extends between one side of the door opening 16 and the respective end wall 13. Upon rotation of the drive shaft 82, each of the board assemblies 66 associated therewith may be moved toward or away from the sidewall from the stored to the operative position for holding the lumber on the platforms 21. The drive shafts 82 may each be turned by means of a crank 83 which is located in the door opening 16 and is foldable to a stored position inwardly of the opening as shown in phantom by means ofa pin and slot connection 84.

In use, two of the platforms 21 may be located in the center of the car in the door openings 16 between the stops 53a so as to hold the platforms in position. Thereafter, the lumber in the form of plywood sheets or bundles of boards may be loaded on the platforms 21. The loaded platforms 21 may then be pushed either manually or by way of a lift truck to a position in the enclosed end of the car 10. During such movement of the platforms along the trackway when the bumper on one end ofthe platform strikes the end wall 13, the stop means 53 will be in a position to engage the buffer plate at the opposite end of the platform to retain the latter against longitudinal movement in the car.

The other two platforms may be similarly loaded and positioned in the enclosed end of the car and held fixed against lengthwise movement by the stop means 53. If desired, further lumber may be stored in the doorways on the floor structure as shown in FIG. 1 to fill the area in the vicinity of the door.

Unloading of the lumber lS accomplished by first removing the lumber stored in the vicinity of the door openings 16. Thereafter, the stop means 53 are operated, by forcibly stepping down on the levers 61 to depress them to positions beneath the plates 52 as hereinabove explained, and the platforms 21 at each end of the car are then sequentially pulled into the area of the door openings 16 by means of a cable or the like which may be attached to U-bolts fastened to the end frame members 28.

As various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a railway car having a floor, end walls and a sidewall having a door opening,

an arrangement for conveying lading between a loading and unloading position inside the car opposite said opening and a stowed position in an enclosed end portion of the car comprising trackway means extending longitudinally in the car floor from opposite said opening to said end walls,

a platform mounted on said trackway means for movement between said positions having substructure providing a bottom surface area of substantially uniplanar portions,

resilient bumper means on the inner and outer. ends of the platform, and

stop means spaced inwardly from a car end wall mounted in the car floor on pivot means extending transversely of the car comprising a lever biased for rising to engage in holding relation to the inner end bumper means after the platform has moved over the lever to stowed position with the outer end bumper means engaged with said car end wall, said lever being thereafter depressible to compress and clear the engaged bumper means for subsequent expansion and projection over the depressed lever and engagement of the lever with said bottom surface portions of the platform, the lever being thereby maintained depressed whereby the platform is freed for movement inwardly from said stowed position.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and

a second platform mounted on said trackway means on the opposite side of said door opening opposite said first mentioned platform,

said second platform having movement on said trackway means between a loading and unloading position to a stowed position in the other end portion of the car adjacent the other end wall thereof,

second resilient bumper means on the inner and outer ends of the second platform, and

second stop means spaced inwardly from said other end wall mounted in the car floor on second pivot means extending transversely of the car comprising a lever biased for rising to engage in holding relation the inner end second bumper means, said second lever also being thereafter depressible to clear the engaged second bumper means for subsequent expansion over the depressed second lever.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and

said trackway means including two transversely spaced rails recessed within the floor and fixed to the floor, and

said stop means being recessed and pivotally mounted in said floor. 

1. In a railway car having a floor, end walls and a sidewall having a door opening, an arrangement for conveying lading between a loading and unloading position inside the car opposite said opening and a stowed position in an enclosed end portion of the car comprising trackway means extending longitudinally in the car floor from opposite said opening to said end walls, a platform mounted on said trackway means for movement between said positions having substructure providing a bottom surface area of substantially uniplanar portions, resilient bumper means on the inner and outer ends of the platform, and stop means spaced inwardly from a car end wall mounted in the car floor on pivot means extending transversely of the car comprising a lever biased for rising to engage in holding relation to the inner end bumper means after the platform has moved over the lever to stowed position with the outer end bumper means engaged with said car end wall, said lever being thereafter depressible to compress and clear the engaged bumper means for subsequent expansion and projection over the depressed lever and engagement of the lever with said bottom surface portions of the platform, the lever being thereby maintained depressed whereby the platform is freed for movement inwardly from said stowed position.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, and a second platform mounted on said trackway means on the opposite side of said door opening opposite said first mentioned platform, said second platform having movement on said trackway means between a loading and unloading position to a stowed position in the other end portion of the car adjacent the other end wall thereof, second resilient bumper means on the inner and outer ends of the second platform, and second stop means spaced inwardly from said other end wall mounted in the car floor on second pivot means extending transversely of the car comprising a lever biased for rising to engage in holding relation the inner end second bumper means, said second lever also being thereafter depressible to clear the engaged second bumper means for subsequent expansion over the depressed second lever.
 3. The invention according to claim 1, and said trackway means including two transversely spaced rails recessed within the floor and fixed to the floor, and said stop means being recessed and pivotally mounted in said floor. 